What got me was not the amount of particles, but the shape of the metal "particles" in the explosions / stepping on stuff. Every chunk is a flat sheet with jagged edges... Is everything in that game world made of non-tempered glass that's been painted black?
They could've taken a page out of Red Faction's book on how to make big structures fall apart.

__________________"The computer programmer says they should drive the car around the block and see if the tire fixes itself." [src]